The best and worst cases for taxpayers were brought out at a meeting of the Ottawa Elementary School Board Thursday night, regarding a solution to the Central School problem.

In a best case, Superintendent Craig Doster said a property owner's taxes would go up about 45 cents per $100 of assessed value; in a worst case, taxes would rise about 76 cents per $100. As examples, the owner of property with a market value of $100,000 would pay $148 more per year in the best case. The same owner would pay $250 in the worst case.

The best and worst cases are based on the amounts of state and federal money the school district receives. The state and federal amounts are uncertain.

If the board decides to go for a referendum, they have to file that decision with the county clerk by Monday, Nov. 30. At least 10 percent of voters would need to sign petitions to oppose a referendum. If a referendum is on the ballot, it would be on the Feb. 2 ballot.

Doster told the board that members will have to "build trust with the community" to assure passage.

The board's next regular meeting is set for Tuesday, Nov. 17, but Doster said at least three to four more special meetings will take place before then. The clock is running because Central School students are attending classes in the former Wal-Mart store, with the school district's lease with Wal-Mart ending in December 2011. New accommodations for the students need to be in place well before then.

Doster explained time is ebbing away, because, "The board hasn't had enough information, but it's not for a lack of trying."

Representatives from the school district's Deerfield architectural firm of Green & Associates laid out three options to replace Central School.

In the first option, Central School would be demolished and a new fifth and sixth grade intermediate replacement school with a 500-student capacity would be built, with a cafetorium, athletic fields and track and district storage building. Also, alterations made for classroom use at the Wal-Mart building would be removed per agreement with Wal-Mart. The total cost would be $28 million.

The second option includes all of the plans in option one, except Central School would not be demolished, no district storage building would be built and the Wal-Mart alterations would be removed by a contractor. The cost would be $25 million.

The classroom areas of a new school in both options would be two-story.Neither of the first two options include the cost of buying land.

The third option would demolish Central School and build additions at the remaining grade schools to absorb the fifth-grade students, with Shepherd Middle School adding the sixth-grade students to its population. A track would be built at Shepherd to replace the track lost at Central School and a district storage building would be built. The cost would be $26 million.

Whichever option is chosen, architects would need provide a design in November, with groundbreaking in May and construction largely done by December 2010 at the latest. Central School, which is near the Illinois River, has to be replaced because of flooding.